عربي English Türkçe اردو فارسى
Logo
Latest News

Houthi Restrictions Hinder UN Efforts to Study Food Security in Yemen

Yemenis in Amran governorate, north of Sanaa, waiting to receive food aid (EPA)
Yemenis in Amran governorate, north of Sanaa, waiting to receive food aid (EPA)
TT
TT

Houthi Restrictions Hinder UN Efforts to Study Food Security in Yemen

Yemenis in Amran governorate, north of Sanaa, waiting to receive food aid (EPA)
Yemenis in Amran governorate, north of Sanaa, waiting to receive food aid (EPA)

The United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) was unable to assess the food situation of Yemenis living under Houthi control because of restrictions imposed by the Iran-backed group.

OCHA, however, noted that its new analysis on food security showed that the number of aid beneficiaries during the last three months of this year increased to four times the estimated figure in previous outlooks.

The UN body added that two Houthi-run areas are facing the threat of famine.

Weeks after the UN affirmed that the majority of the obstacles encountered by the humanitarian work teams come from Houthis authorities, OCHA stated that the phased classification of food security was updated in 125 districts in the governorates controlled by the internationally recognized government.

OCHA officials have recommended the adoption of hypothetical analyzes for areas controlled by the Houthis.

They pointed out that the analysis that was conducted last February in 208 districts in Houthi-run areas was not updated. Moreover, the officials revised initial assumptions from the previous analysis.

Conclusions by the officials included sudden shocks and other contributing factors such as food prices and floods. These factors were not factored in during the previous analysis.

UN analysis indicated that the number of cases estimated in the previous report suggests that approximately 2.2 million children under the age of five suffer from malnutrition, including 538,000 suffering from acute malnutrition.

Meanwhile, the report predicted that about 1.3 million pregnant and breastfeeding women would suffer from malnutrition.

The analysis update indicated an increased risk.

It pointed to the situation changing in 17 districts and reaching a worse stage compared to last February’s expectations.

In Al-Mahra Governorate, nine regions are under the threat of a crisis. Eight neighborhoods in the city of Aden will move from the crisis stage to the emergency stage.

Most Viewed

 
 
Fashion

Uniqlo’s Chief Says Fast Fashion Must Change with the Times

A woman walks past jumpers for sale at the latest flagship store to open by Fast Retailing clothing brand Uniqlo, in the Shinjuku district of central Tokyo on November 14, 2024. (AFP)
A woman walks past jumpers for sale at the latest flagship store to open by Fast Retailing clothing brand Uniqlo, in the Shinjuku district of central Tokyo on November 14, 2024. (AFP)
TT
TT

Uniqlo’s Chief Says Fast Fashion Must Change with the Times

A woman walks past jumpers for sale at the latest flagship store to open by Fast Retailing clothing brand Uniqlo, in the Shinjuku district of central Tokyo on November 14, 2024. (AFP)
A woman walks past jumpers for sale at the latest flagship store to open by Fast Retailing clothing brand Uniqlo, in the Shinjuku district of central Tokyo on November 14, 2024. (AFP)

Forty years after its founding, Japanese clothing retailer Uniqlo has more than 2,500 stores worldwide. Sales at its parent company, Fast Retailing Co., recently topped 3 trillion yen ($20 billion) annually for the first time.

The name Uniqlo comes from joining the words for “unique” and “clothing.” The chain’s basic concept is “LifeWear,” or everyday clothing. Uniqlo parent Fast Retailing Co. Chief Executive Tadashi Yanai, ranked by Forbes as Japan’s richest man and estimated to be worth $48 billion, spoke recently to The Associated Press at the company’s Tokyo headquarters. The interview has been edited for length and clarity.

Q: What were the biggest challenges over the past 40 years?

A: Actually 40 years, upon reflection, went by so fast they feel more like three years. You know what they say in Japan: Time flies like an arrow. I started a regional business, then expanded nationwide.

When we became No. 2 or No. 3 in Japan’s casual wear, and being No. 1 was right within reach, we became a listed company in 1994. That was followed by our fleece boom, which doubled our revenue in one year to 400 billion yen ($2.6 billion).

I’d been thinking about going global when our revenue reached 300 billion yen ($2 billion) so we opened 50 stores in Great Britain, hoping to be a winner there just like we had conquered Japan.

Instead, we got totally knocked out.

We opened 21 outlets in a year and a half, but had to close 16 of them, leaving just five. We didn’t succeed as we had hoped. This is not an easy job. It’s very tough.

But these days, our sales are strongest in London, and also Paris. We made progress gradually.

Q: What are some of the sustainability and other key issues you have faced over the years?

A: We make clothes that last a long time. Not just clothes that last for one season.

The cashmere sweater I’m wearing today is $99. But please don’t say “cheap.” Please call it “reasonable.” We sell quality products at reasonable prices.

We’ve done various sustainability efforts, and we talk only about what we have really achieved.

Sustainability is crucial to our operations. And we’ve done just about everything — recycling, employing the disabled, support for refugees.

The prices may be cheaper at Wal-Mart, but our products offer real quality for the price. We take the greatest care and time, and involve a lot of people. Our rivals are more careless.

Q: What is behind Uniqlo’s success and what resonated with global buyers?

A: When we say Uniqlo is “made for all,” one might imagine products for the masses, like what’s at a Wal-Mart or a Target.

But what we mean is a high-quality product that appeals to all people, including the extremely rich, not only those with sophisticated taste and intelligence, but also people who don’t know that much about clothes, and the design is fine-tuned, the material fine quality, and sustainability concerns have been addressed.

We were first a retailer, then a manufacturer-cum-retailer. Now we are a digital consumer retailer. That is why we are successful. If we had stayed the same, then we can’t hope to succeed.

Being a digital consumer retail company means we utilize information at a high level to shape the way we do our work. We gain information about our customers, the workers at the store, the market, all that information.

Changing daily is the only way we can hope for stable growth. The world is changing every day.

Q: Are you confident you can keep it up another 40 years?

A: Of course. We’ve been preparing to reach 3 trillion yen ($20 billion) revenue all these years. And we are finally starting to be known. But we still have a long way to go.

We are just getting started, and we are going to keep growing. There is more potential for growth in Europe and the US, as well as China and India, given the 1.4 billion population in each country. Clothing is a necessity, so population size is key.